Driver rescued from SUV in Millbury pond

MILLBURY — A driver whose sport utility vehicle veered off the road and landed in Dorothy Pond Monday afternoon apparently had a medical emergency that caused the accident, officials said.

The man was driving southwest on Wheelock Avenue when the vehicle left the road, crossed a lawn and was launched into the pond about 3:30 p.m.

The driver, whose name was not released, was rescued from his red Subaru within minutes of the crash, about the same time a thunderstorm rolled through the area. The water reached up to the steering wheel in the vehicle.

Assistant Fire Chief Steve Piscitelli said he was right up the road when he heard the call come in on the radio.

He said he and another man were able to free the driver within minutes. The man was not injured, and was responsive at the time he was rescued.

Assistant Chief Piscitelli estimated the man was in his late 50s. The only complication in the rescue was that the automatic seat began moving forward, crowding the driver's legs.

Assistant Chief Piscitelli said the driver was taken to an area hospital. It is unclear what caused him to veer off the road.

Assistant Fire Chief Richard Hamilton said the response time was less than two minutes. No one else was in the car.

Assistant Chief Hamilton said this is the first time he can remember, in his 30 years with the Fire Department, a vehicle going into the water at that location.

The homeowner, Jude Cristo, said his lawn was not damaged and he believes the car was going fast enough to launch off the side of his driveway and into the water. He did not see the accident because he was in the backyard, but he said he had been using a weed trimmer in that area just hours earlier.

From now on, he said, he will face the road while working on his lawn.

Contact Alli Knothe at aknothe@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @KnotheA